minima

noun

1. The lowest limit.

   We need a minimum of three staff members on duty at all time.

2. The smallest amount.

   He always tries to get away with doing the minimum.

3. A period of minimum brightness or energy intensity (of a star).

   The Maunder minimum of the Sun reportedly corresponded to a period of great cold on Earth.

4. A lower bound of a set which is also an element of that set.

5. The smallest member of a batch or sample or the lower bound of a probability distribution.